Toyota teams up with local police to create bespoke Corolla patrol car

Toyota has teamed up with Derbyshire police to create a bespoke Corolla that’s suitable for the hard-working life of a patrol car.

The model in question is a Corolla Touring Sports, which is the firm’s name for the estate variant. The patrol car uses the Trek specification, which has been designed with rough roads in mind, getting a raised ride height.

Built by Toyota Manufacturing UK at the firm’s Burnaston plant, the updated model is built to better withstand damage from driving over speed bumps and high kerbs.

On top of this, Derbyshire police asked for built-in satellite navigation, parking sensors, a dog guard and steel wheels with a full-size spare wheel.

Terry Hitchcock, Derbyshire Police’s fleet manager said: “Derbyshire Police appreciate the opportunity to operate this locally built bespoke product, it will be used for operational purposes within South Derbyshire.

“We are looking forward to seeing how the vehicle performs in this role, particularly with the hybrid power as we start to move away from the traditional standard diesel and petrol cars.”

Richard Kenworthy, TMUK managing director, said: “We have had a good relationship with our local emergency services for 30 years, so when Derbyshire Police approached us requesting a vehicle that could respond to their requirements we were more than happy to investigate solutions.

“Working in collaboration with our colleagues at Toyota (GB), TMUK is continually exploring and developing additional products and services that we can offer to meet the needs of customers in both the public and private sector.”

The Corolla patrol car is being put into service now for officers to evaluate. TMUK will maintain the vehicle and take performance data as well as user feedback to decide what changes to implement in the future.